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Undergraduate Admissions

The UC San Diego History major prepares students for a wide variety of rewarding careers.  At the crossroads of the humanities, the arts, and the social sciences, history is the study of human experience as it has unfolded over the ages. As an academic discipline, it presents a unique gateway both to the richness of our cultural heritage and to the immense variety of world civilizations. 

Below, you will find information for students planning to apply to UC San Diego as history majors. For more information about admissions requirements, financial aid, and to apply please visit the UC San Diego Admissions website.


Freshman Admissions

Optional Freshman Portfolio

About the Portfolio

Any incoming Freshman interested in pursuing a History major may submit an optional writing sample portfolio to enhance their overall UCSD application. The History  faculty will review the writing sample and share their evaluations with UCSD’s Admissions Committee. Your optional writing sample may help assist your overall application review. If you have additional questions after reviewing the requirements (below) please contact the Undergraduate Coordinator at historyundergrad@ucsd.edu

Portfolio Requirements

Applicants who want to major in History may submit an Advanced Placement-style essay that demonstrates the analytical and interpretive capabilities of the student.  Excerpts from Advanced Placement history exams or other essays on historical topics of up to 500 words  are acceptable.

AP Credit

A score of 3 or better in AP U.S. History counts as having completed HILD 2A and HILD 2B. One additional course is required to fulfill the lower division course requirement for the major. We cannot give credit for AP courses that do not have an equivalent course in this department. Please review our lower-division offerings prior to enrolling in your high school's AP history course.

Transfer Admissions

Students are welcome to take all of the required courses for the major once they've transferred to UC San Diego. Lower and upper division courses in history may be taken concurrently so waiting to fulfill lower division requirements here shouldn't impact your ability to complete your degree timely manner. If you would like to fulfill major requirements prior to transferring to UC San Diego please read the appropriate section below.

California Community College Students

All community college coursework transfers as lower division, so you will not be able to complete upper-division requirements at your community college.

Check Assist.org to find out if your college has an articulation agreement with UC San Diego (most do). 

Next, find out what courses at your community college articulate with one of our lower division sequences: 

  • HILD 2 A-B-C (U.S. History)
  • HILD 7 A-B-C (Race and Ethnicity/U.S. History)
  • HILD 10-11-12 (East Asian History)

Local Community College Students

The Cross-Enrollment Program allows undergraduate students enrolled in a California Community College or a California State University campus to enroll in a University of California campus without formal admission for a maximum of one course per quarter. 

In-State Students

Check Assist.org to find out if your college has an articulation agreement with UC San Diego. If your college or university does not have articulation agreements with UC San Diego, we'd prefer that you complete all of your major coursework here; however, we will consider petitions to accept non-articulated courses.

In order to successfully petition a course we will need a combination of the following evidence:

  • Course Syllabus
  • Course Description
  • Student Work (papers, essays, tests, etc.)
  • Anything else that would help you show the department that the course is as academically rigorous and covers the content as one of our courses

Local State University Students

The Cross-Enrollment Program allows undergraduate students enrolled in a California Community College or a California State University campus to enroll in a University of California campus without formal admission for a maximum of one course per quarter.

Out-of-State Students

We'd prefer that you complete the majority of your major coursework at UC San Diego; however, we understand if you'd like to petition some of the courses from your previous institution. 

In order to successfully petition a course we will need a combination of the following evidence:

  • Course Syllabus
  • Course Description
  • Student Work (papers, essays, tests, etc.)
  • Anything else that would help you show the department that the course is as academically rigorous and covers the same or similar content as one of our courses